Car Hire Jersey Airport

After picking up your hire car from Jersey Airport it’s just a 15 to 20-minute drive to the capital, Saint Helier, and all of the island’s main routes are connected to this coastal parish, making it a great base for exploring. Head north on the A8 to Jersey Zoo, or drive to Plémont on the north-west tip to see the local puffins.

It can take just two and half hours to drive around the entire coast of Jersey, so intimate is this island. The most scenic stretch is arguably on the southern shores, starting in the small fishing town of St Aubin.

Drive east, passing through Saint Helier and onto Mont Orgueil Castle, to enjoy around 30 minutes of bayfront bliss, following the natural curve of the coastline with the blue waters rippling outside your window.

Paid parking in Jersey runs on a system of units, rather than currency, and you buy a paycard from local shops or garages, purchasing either individual units or a bundle. Display the card when you use public car parks and metered on-street spaces. In some places, you can also pay using your phone.

Though it’s closer to France, the island of Jersey shares many of the UK’s driving rules, including driving on the left. Across the island, the maximum speed limit is just 40mph (64km/h). In towns and villages, this typically drops to 20mph (32km/h) or 30mph (48km/h).

On some routes in the countryside you’ll come across roads signposted as ‘Green Lanes’. These stretches are designed for the enjoyment of walkers and cyclists, giving them right of way and limiting cars to 15mph (24km/h).

There are a couple of other differences to note. A solid yellow line painted by the curb means parking is prohibited, while a yellow line across the end of a road means you must give way. Finally, traffic lights typically change straight from red to green, without showing amber.

Jersey feels like a picturesque postcard brought to life. Quaint white houses speckle its vibrant green hills, and pastel-coloured terraces line the harbours.

Hop in your hire car to find sandy beaches and clifftop landmarks fringing the shores of the island, and discover bunting-clad streets and historic secrets inland.

Serene Saint Helier

Home to more than a third of the island’s population, Saint Helier is the charming waterfront centre of Jersey.

Drift in and out of the petite boutiques on King Street and into Royal Square at the eastern end. Stately Victorian buildings rub shoulders with the buzz of local restaurants, tempting you inside with fresh seafood and fluffy Jersey Royal potatoes. Bistro Rosa in The Fish Market gets rave reviews from visitors and locals alike.

Meanwhile, the craggy silhouette of Elizabeth Castle looms a mile offshore. At low tide you can even walk across to the Tudor fortress, seeing where the young King Charles II hid during the English Civil War, and exploring the German wartime bunkers.

Charming villages

Outside of Saint Helier, there are picturesque villages and hamlets sprinkled across the island. Gorey is tucked in a nook on the east coast, adored in equal measure for the vintage charm of its bright white houses and the freshly-shucked oysters served up in the seafront restaurants.

Once a fishing harbour, Saint Aubin rivals its neighbouring parish of Saint Helier with things to do. Seaview houses, ice cream parlours and family-run cafes stack up into the hillside, looking out to the stone ruins of Saint Aubin’s Fort beyond the harbour.

A shining light

The shores of Jersey host close to 10 lighthouses, but there are two which create a particularly beautiful setting on the south coast.

Standing offshore on a rocky crag, at the most south-western point of the island, La Corbiere lighthouse looks like the artists’ ideal – a classic white tower topped with a gleaming beacon.

Along the shore, about 15 minutes’ drive away, is Noirmont Lighthouse, also known as La Tour de Vinde. This stocky structure is easy to spot by the distinctive black and white stripes which band around the circular tower. Perched on a brown rocky outlet with the aqua blue waters swirling below, it offers the perfect holiday snap.

Going underground 

Perhaps the most infamous period of Jersey’s history is documented underground in the Jersey War Tunnels.

Taken over by the Nazis for most of the Second World War, the island became a work camp for prisoners of war, tasked with transforming Jersey into a fortress by digging a network of tunnels underneath the surface. Today, these tunnels are a dedicated museum, filled with fascinating history displays, courageous tales of resistance and interactive features which bring to life the suffering which the island endured.

You’ll find wartime relics elsewhere too, including the towering lookout at Noirmont Point and the Atlantic Wall that runs through Saint Helier. In May each year the streets of Saint Helier erupt with Liberation Day celebrations, with locals donning military uniform and 1940s music filling the streets.  

Whether you’re travelling for business or planning the perfect island break, car hire at Jersey Airport lets you discover the charm of this fantastic destination at your leisure.